Vehicle signal



Nov, 4, 19M. H. c. SMITH ZZlsn I VEHICLE SIGNAL Filed July 1, 1959 Rag:l 3

IIH

Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VEHICLE SIGNAL- Hamido. smith, Tracy, Calif. Application July 1, 1939, Serial No. 282,561

1 claim. 01. rfv-32p This invention relates in general to an improvedautomotive vehicle signal of the type which may be mounted on the frontor rear ends, or both ends, of a vehicle and controlled from a manuallyactuated unit in the drivers compartment.

In particular the invention is directed to, and it is my principalobject to provide, a unique form of signal device which includes ahousing having a translucent face or pane, and electrical means withinthe housing arranged to selectively elect the projection of any one of anumber of warning or signal words on said face from within the housingand so that such words are readable from a substantial distance awayfrom the device.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensivedevice and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposefor which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the followingspecification and claim.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device.

Figure 2 is a sectional plan view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a cross section on line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Figure 4 is an elevation of the transparent, lettered slides removedfrom the remainder of the device.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the control unit.

Figure 6 is a diagram of the circuit employed.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawing, the device comprises an enclosed, horizontally elongatedhousing comprising a top plate I, a bottom plate 2, end plates 3, and aback plate 4; the end plates 3 diverging forwardly, and the top andbottom plates converging somewhat as at 5. The top and bottom plates aswell as the end plates are formed with inturned flanges 6 at theirforward edges.

A pane of frosted or ground glass 1 forms the front of the housing; suchpane being held in position against anges 6 by means of a securing orborder frame 8. 'I'he back plate 4 and pane 8 are disposed parallel toeach other, and a vertical partition 9 extends between the end plates 3intermediate of and parallel to said back plate and pane.V Thispartition includes spaced vertical rows of removable glass slides III;each in channels II formed in said partition. These rows of slides aredisposed in predetermined such row of slides being carried at its sideedges spaced relation for the purposey which'will hereinafter appear,and each row in the present embodiment comprises four slides. Y

Corresponding slides in the spaced row are shaded the same color, andsuch corresponding sildes bear a warning or signal word applied with anopaque material; approximately one-half the word being on one slide inone ro'w and the other half being on the corresponding slide in theother row. For example, the uppermost slides, as shown in Fig. 4, areboth shaded red and one bears the letters ST and the other bears theletters OP.

Prefocused electric globes I2, carried in sockets I3 which are mountedon the back plate 4, are disposed back of the slides I0; there being aseparate globe for each slide. Thus, there are two vertical rows of fourglobes each; the globes being positioned in the same symmetrical andrelative arrangement as the slides.

Corresponding globes in the separate rows are illuminated simultaneouslythrough the medium of a circuit which includes leads I4 connected to acommon ground I5, and other separate leads I6 which extend to oneterminal of separate snap switches I1 mounted on a control box I8adapted to be secured on the steering post (not shown) of the vehicle bymeans of a clamp I9. l The other terminals of the snap switches areconnected by a common lead 20 to one side of the vehicle storage battery2I whose other side is grounded as at 22. Indicator lights 23 areinterposed in series in leads I6; such indicator lights being disposedin box I8 behind translucent windows 24 on which are imprinted warningor signal words corresponding to the words on the slides I0; the globesI2 and 23 in each separate circuit being disposed adjacent a slide I0and window 24 respectively which bear like words. The driver is at alltimes apprised as to which, or if any, signal circuit is closed by suchindicator lights 23 behind said windows 24.

In use the housing is mounted on a motor vehicle by suitable supportingbrackets 25 and with pane 'I outermost; there being a separate device onboth the front and rear of the vehicle if desired.

In order to give one of the several signals, the driver closes that oneof switches I1 which corresponds to such signal. The pair of globes I2behind the slides on which such signal word or words appears areilluminated and the signal is projected by the light of the prefocusedglobes onto the back oi the ground glass pane 1; onehalf of the signalbeing projected from one slide, and the other half from the other slide.The projected Word or words are clearly visible on the ground glass forsome distance and are clearly legible as the same appear on a eld thesame color or shade as the slides. For example, the Word Stop appears ona red field.

As the slides I0 are disposed relatively close to globes l 2 and spaceda substantial distance from pane 1, the image of the letters on theslides when projected is relatively large, and their increase in size,plus proper positioning of the globes I2 results in the projectedletters and Words being properly disposed even though the slides, eachof which bears only a portion of the signal indicia, are spaced apart.The lines of projection of the images are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and asthe globes are prefocused, each globe projects an image from thecorresponding slide.

The device is practically foolproof, gives an easily read signal, andprovides for a number of safety signals with a minimum of mechanism.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I haveproduced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of theinvention as set forth herein.

While this specication sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as deined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In al signal device, a housing having a vertical translucent face plate,a pair of translucent relatively small slides behind the plate disposedin a common vertical plane and in longitudinal but spaced alinement witheach other, an opaque partition surrounding the slides and in which thelatter are mounted, the slides each bearing a partial signal indiciawhich together form a complete signal indicium and a prefocused electriclight in the housing behind each slide; each such light being positionedrelative to the corresponding slide, the spacing between the slides andthe plate being such as to cause the indicia to be projected from saidslide onto the corresponding portion of the plate for substantially onehalf the length thereof.

HAROLD C. SMITH.

